And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. – Genesis 1:28

I believe that we should have reasonable protections for the environment. Primarily, this is to protect human health and prevent people from harming each other through pollution. Because pollution from one state can harm other states, I believe that it is appropriate for the federal government to pass and enforce reasonable environmental regulations under their authority to regulate interstate commerce. As a Christian, I also believe that we are to be good stewards of the world that God has given us to have dominion over.

But some people take it way too far, to the point of actually worshiping the Earth itself. Around Bloomington, you will see the occasional bumper sticker with a picture of Earth urging us to "love your mother."

In Romans 1, the Apostle Paul warned that God would give people over to vile affections because they worship the creation rather than the Creator, Who is blessed forever. On August 18, the UK Guardian published a very sad story about His judgment – something the writers and the scientists at NASA and in academia are far too blind to see.

From the article:

"Green" aliens might object to the environmental damage humans have caused on Earth and wipe us out to save the planet. "These scenarios give us reason to limit our growth and reduce our impact on global ecosystems. It would be particularly important for us to limit our emissions of greenhouse gases, since atmospheric composition can be observed from other planets," the authors write.

So let me get this straight. Hippies from outer space might arrive in their bong-ship someday to wipe out humanity in order to save the Earth and punish us for blaspheming Gaia. Far out, man. Groovy. Pass the weed.

This is what they believe?

This is what passes for serious academic study from NASA and Pennsylvania State University?

Really?

REALLY?

Do we need any more evidence that radical environmentalism is little more than soul-destroying earth worship? Enviro-extremists even have doomsday prophecies and judgment from deity-like figures if we continue to "sin" against the Earth.We can avoid this judgment from Gaia’s agents (angels?) in outer space if we stop "sinning" against Mother Earth and behave in a way that releases less pollution into the atmosphere. We can also get visions directly from Gaia by smoking a lot of marijuana.

My assessment of the scenario posed by these "respected scientists" is admittedly harsh, mocking and disrespectful. But when something is this mind-numbingly stupid, it does not deserve the respect of a thoughtful analysis and refutation. Instead, it deserves scorn and ridicule. This is simply absurd. This is not science. It is a doomsday prophecy from a religious cult. It is the fantasy of extremists who believe man is an enemy of nature, rather than a part of nature.

Yes, nature is a wonderful thing. Yes, we should have reasonable protections for the environment, as I said above – though there are and will be endless arguments about what is reasonable and what is not. Much of the environmentalist movement has gone far beyond a simple desire to have clean air and water to treating "mother nature" as a divine being. This is literally damnable.